Minister's remark on IIT Bombay's name shows govt’s mindset: Raj Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh's remark on not changing IIT Bombay's name to IIT Mumbai shows the government’s mindset.
“As far as IIT Bombay is concerned, thank God it still is this name. You have not changed it to Mumbai. So that's another compliment to you. And also true for Madras. It remains IIT Madras,” the minister had said, addressing a function at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on Monday.
Responding to the minister's remark, Thackeray said it clearly appears to be a symbol of the government's mindset.
The plot to separate Mumbai, which has always belonged to the Marathi people, from Maharashtra was foiled by Marathi leaders and the public, the MNS chief said in a post on X.
“Our Marathi Mumbai remained in Maharashtra. Now, the bitterness that's been festering in their bellies for decades is starting to spill out once again,” he said.
“People of Mumbai and all Marathi folks living in the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region should open their eyes now. The name "Mumbai" irks them (ruling dispensation) because it is named after Mumbadevi, the original goddess of Mumbai. her children are the Marathi people who have lived here for generations,” he said.
The Central government tried to “wrest” Chandigarh from Punjab's control, but backed off after facing opposition from all other parties, he said, adding that retreat is temporary.
“Something similar is brewing in Mumbai's case. An attempt to quietly take control of the city is definitely underway. First Mumbai, and then the entire MMR region will be seized and linked to Gujarat. Marathi people should wake up,” Thackeray said.
MNS workers on Wednesday put up a banner outside IIT Bombay, “renaming” the institution, set up in 1958, as IIT Mumbai.
Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya told reporters that the BJP-led state government will send a proposal to the Centre to rename IIT Bombay as IIT Mumbai. “We also want the Bombay High Court to be renamed as Mumbai High Court,” he added.
Somaiya said he also discussed the issue with CM Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday.
The city, also known as Bombay earlier, was officially renamed Mumbai in 1995 by the state government, to honour the local goddess Mumbadevi, after whom the city is named, and to shed the remnants of British colonial rule.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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